Anthony McIntyre ⚽Jay didn't make this one.
Being a touch under the weather on this occasion was a cloud with a silver lining. He was spared the misery of another miserable performance. We were denied his prediction.
At the game's end I came away feeling that while Jay would get better there was little prospect of that happening for the Drogs. Then against the odds they went up to Oriel Park the following week and took all three points from their Dundalk rivals, a number of places above them in the league table. There were more than me amazed by that result. Inconsistency, while it worked out at Oriel, has been the bane of this struggling Drogheda side.
Upon arrival I shook hands with Tony the tireless steward. It was coming up to the first anniversary of his wife's passing so I guess his mind was on other things, as well as the game at hand.
Myself and Paddy settled into our seats just to realise that the sun was out once again to torment out view of the game. Maybe it thought it was doing us a favour, being the only thing to brighten up Sullivan And Lambe Park, but to me it is a lazy bollix. Does nothing all week and then comes out on a Friday night when nobody on our side of the ground wants it. Like the previous game, we were back to shielding our eyes from its rays through holding our phones above us. On this occasion I didn't even have the numbing compensatory balm of a double Glenfiddich.
In the 5th minute Thomas Oluwa failed to make the most of a Brandon Kavanagh cross, putting his attempt on goal wide of the post. Minutes later Oluwa turned provider, allowing Leo Burney to head goalward from close range only to see his effort blocked. As if the sun was not doing a good enough job at annoying us, the stars seemed to be aligned against us as well. The two misses in the space of a minute were a harbinger of a missed opportunity to come.
Bohs defend in numbers especially from free kicks and corners which forces their opponents to rely on open play. The Drogs have more success from set pieces than any other side in the league while seeming unable to take advantage of the service provided by Brandon Kavanagh. Both avenues to goal closed off, it portended to be a difficult night.
It wasn't long before that moment of a fate foretold in the 5th minute arrived. Mark Doyle scoring at the wrong end of the pitch to put the visitors in front. Despite some attempts on the Bohemian goal the Claret and Blue failed to pull level, and went in at half time trailing by that solitary own goal.
When Luke Dennison saved from Dawson Devoy in the 57th minute there was a hope that the Drogs had stabilised and could go on to salvage something from the game The Bohs seemed to be apprehensive about holding their lead and committed to some robust tackling to maintain the status quo, leading to a yellow card for Harry Vaughan on the hour. This saw the Bohs man replaced a minute later.
In the 74th minute Ryan Brennan joined Vaughan when his name went into the book for a foul. The Drogheda captain had been putting himself about the park a bit, and it seemed inevitable that he would come to the ref's attention before the game's end.
As the contest entered its dusk stage an old Drogs favourite took to the field only this time he was turning out in the colours of the Bohs. Within two minutes the switch showed promise when Douglas James Taylor forced a Luke Dennison save. Only seconds passed before success struck for the English forward, placing his shot to the right of Dennison. Bohemians had doubled their lead.
Ten minutes later the former Drogs favourite could also have doubled his tally when a penalty was awarded against Leo Burney. Unfortunately for him he placed his shot over the bar and to safety for the Drogs although it would have no bearing on the outcome of the game.
With time added on in either half when they trudged towards the dressing room both sets of players teams had been on the field for over 100 minutes.
We left the ground acutely aware that Waterford - for whom the season had seemed a lost cause with relegation looking a foregone conclusion - were now breathing down the neck of Drogheda. A 2-4 win up at the Brandywell over Derry City was edging them closer to safety while pushing the Drogs ever closer to the precipice.
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